BERKELEY — A homeless sweep at the Gilman Street/Interstate 80 exchange this week was the latest episode in a numbing, months-long, biweekly ritual, several people interviewed under the overpass on Friday said.

But the latest visit on Thursday by Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol was more mellow than the one two weeks earlier.

“They were pretty decent this time around,” said Joseph Rose, 53, who has been living in a tent at the interchange since February. “They gave us more time to get our stuff together, instead of grabbing it out of our hands and throwing it in a garbage truck.”

Crews cleaned the sidewalks under the overpass Thursday and erected a sturdy fence along the south side, which was clear of any apparent human belongings Friday afternoon. Rose was back on the north side of the underpass, weathering a stiff, cold breeze while nestled in a tent with his dog, Son, his wheelchair parked alongside.

Rose said it is probably just a matter of time before the north side gets fenced off, forcing its current occupants to find space elsewhere in the area.

Caltrans began the sweeps at the behest of the city and now conducts them every two weeks, said agency spokesman Bob Haus.

“A while ago, the city of Berkeley asked Caltrans to install a stouter fence,” Haus said, “and we agreed.”

Berkeley city spokesman Matthai Chakko said the area has long been a health concern.

“There are hundreds of needles, feces, urine, garbage, rats. It’s not a safe place to live,” Chakko said. “There’s also a pedestrian hazard issue — it’s a heavily trafficked area.”

No particular incident prompted the current action, but the encampments have been “an ongoing concern,” he said. The city has received complaints from residents, people passing through, and people who own and operate businesses in the area, as well as from parents of children who use the nearby Gilman sports fields, Chakko added.

The city has deployed workers from its Department of Health and Community Services, as well as the Mental Division’s homeless outreach coordinator to offer services, Chakko said. One goal is to get people into shelter as a step to permanent housing, and to offer supportive services on an ongoing basis.

“This is a regional issue,” he added, “and it has to be solved on a regional level.”

Osha Neumann, staff attorney for the East Bay Community Law Center, was at the overpass on Friday to talk to people about possibly filing claims for restitution for their property.

Gentrification pushes people into areas such as under freeways, Neumann said. He derided the Caltrans fence as “the Donald Trump solution.”

“Caltrans takes people’s belongings and destroys them — they’re doing it all over the East Bay,” Neumann said.

Haus said the belongings are taken to the nearest Caltrans maintenance facility and held for 90 days.

Rose, who cut concrete for a living for 28 years and is unable to walk after two hip replacements, is in his second stay under the I-80 freeway. Like many others who camp in the area, he lived at the Albany Bulb until the city of Albany cleared the area about two years ago. “They paid us to leave the Bulb,” Rose said.

After two weeks at the Gilman Street interchange, he got an apartment in Richmond with three other people for $1,800 a month through the nonprofit Berkeley Food & Housing Project. Two of the housemates left after about 18 months, leaving Rose and the other housemate unable to afford the rent.

Rose has been contacted several times since February by outreach workers. On Thursday, “They said hi to me but didn’t offer any services,” he said Friday. As for housing, some weeks ago, “I signed up, but I haven’t heard nothing,” Rose said. “I’m on file, I guess.”